Given that the new MST3k Volume XXIX DVD set contains a special extra feature on artist Steve Vance, the guy who illustrates the Shout Factory mini poster artwork, it would be a good time to ask fans which of the MST3k video releases has the best artwork, including the Rhino releases.
My favorite MST3k DVD artwork is the one for “Kitten with a Whip” in the Volume XXV release. The poster artwork by Steve Vance proclaiming “She’s got claws…and she likes to scratch!” juxtaposed with Crow and Tom as Ann-Margret and John Forsythe’s characters is just perfect.
Crow dressed in a woman’s blouse and blonde wig, holding a broken glass bottle in one hand and grasping Tom’s necktie in the other is just very clever and witty and delivers a great punchline with the aforementioned tagline.
What’s yours?
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I especially like the ones where Tom and Crow are in character, not just damsels in distress. The two that come to mind first are “Santa Claus” where Devil Tom is about to stab Santa Crow with his trident and “Mighty Jack”. Something about Crow with those thick-rimmed specs is just very funny. Oh, and “Sword and the Dragon” is also very good.
Great job, Steve!!
Likewise, Great job, Steve!!
I do like the ones previously mentioned. Among my favorites (and slightly biased they were two of my fave movies) I did like the Violent Years” and “Village of the Giants” posters. I did like the “Warrior of the Lost World” poster with the robots in action mode. The “Final Justice” poster was nice with the pseudo-Western feel to it.
I really like the art he did for Mitchell. I just wish they gave us mini posters for that one. Really disappointing they didn’t.
I second Mr Torso’s vote for Mitchell, and wish there had been a full size mini poster for that one. Of course, now I’m picturing Crow and Servo reenacting the baby oil scene, so maybe it’s for the best that it’s just a tiny cover pic.
Personally, I find that the Crow’s expression on the Kitten with a Whip poster really creeps me out.
The Magic Voyage of Sinbad cracks me up every time. I LOVE crow as the falcon on Servo’s arm. The mini posters are great and I have put several in long frames from Ikea. I can fit four in each and change them out on a whim. Visually I also love Devil Fish with the bots in the tentacles.
Pretty basic but…
Master Ninja I & Master Ninja II
I guess it doesn’t hurt that those are probably among my personal favorite episodes. Tom wearing the “big ass” medallion makes me chuckle. Crow in the powder blue tuxedo on MNII is so 80s. Good stuff.
MstMolly #6 – You know, I’ve often thought about decorating my “Mstie Cave” with those mini posters, but never thought about framing them. However, now that you mention it, they would make REALLY cool framed decorations. Perhaps you could then attach the frames to pegboard for easy moving and to avoid Swiss-cheesing your wall.
I have a summer project!!
My wife frames as a hobby and has been doing these four to a picture for me (with the exception of the Gamera ones, where she has all five in one frame).
I’d have a hard time picking a favorite; I just think they’re great!
His name immediate makes me think of “VANCE!” from Giant Spider Invasion.
I’m just gonna go ahead and say that all of them are my favorite, although the recent one of Pumaman is particularly awesome.
‘The Beast Of Yucca Flats’ with Tor Johnson and the mushroom cloud is amazing. I also like the one for ‘The Beatniks’. Tom is crooning and Crow is growling “I’m gonna moon you man! I’m gonna moooooon you!”
I also have been enjoying Steve Vance’s work. I especially look forward to what the posters will be for the sci-fi episodes since those were how I was introduced to MST. But thinking back to Rhino’s artwork, some of the artwork on the DVD themselves were interesting. Probably my favorite is the sushi on the Godzilla vs. Megalon (oh no, now I’m going to get sued) DVD. But I still don’t understand the spurm (misspelled on purpose) on Tormented. :/
I think the Tormented DVD was supposed to be seaweed, which I guess makes sense in context with the whole drowning in the ocean thing. My favorite Rhino disc was the one for The Sinister Urge, with all the pills.
Shout’s taken the artwork up a notch, though. I love old movie posters in general, and Steve does a great job evoking the feel, although I sometimes feel that the resolution should be a little grainier. For many MSTed movies, his posters may be the highest quality broadsheet they’ve ever received – Manos (my favorite poster) in particular.
Agree with JM: Master Ninja I and II….but, those are my favorite episodes ever so I’m probably biased.
Also love Mitchell and Village of the Giants posters.
Tom’s goatee on the Santa Claus poster is cute, plus another vote for The Magic Voyage of (he’s not) Sinbad. I do find it mildly creepy to see both bots with fully functional arms and hands, but it’s part of the charm.
I don’t exactly display mine, but I have them back-to-back in 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inch sleeves in a small binder. I don’t have them in any particular order right now, but I wish we had posters for the Rhino releases, too. I’d like to have a complete set of posters all in the proper episode order. If I had any artistic talent I’d make my own.
What immediately comes to my mind is the poster for Lost Continent. Somehow he was able to make that movie look good, and that’s no small task.
I like “Devil Doll.” Crow holding the “dummy” Tom. WHO? is the puppet? WHO? is the master?
And I’ve always liked “Gamera vs Guiron.” The knife-headed monster, Gamera, Tom and Crow wearing the helmets of the alien babes–it just makes me laugh.
Oh man, I don’t think I could ever pick! I adore Steve’s work on the posters. Seeing his creations, what scenes he’s put the bots into, and how he’s translated the cheesy movie in question into an exciting, artistic presentation is my favorite part of getting my hands on the new box sets! I already know the episodes in the set, but there is something special about finally seeing Steve’s new art! Keep it up, sir! :)
If I had to pick a favorite, it might have to be Robot Monster. Its not super busy, but it feels like a classic poster from the 50’s, and that fits well with the movie! Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Robot Monster is one of my all time favorite episodes, and Ro-Man himself is one of my favorite characters from the entire series! I may have scratch built a Ro-Man helmet for Halloween last year… yeah, I’m that kind of fan.
Now if you’ll excuse me, Ward E is calling my name…
I like the ones where they pretend to be characters of the movie, like The Brute Man, where Crow is The Creeper and Servo is the blind girl. Or Gamera Vs Guiron where they’re wearing that weird looking headgear worn by the alien girls as the watch in excitement the two monsters fighting.
I love all of the mini posters from Steve Vaaa-a-a-a-a-nncce! (crazy Barbara Hale voice) But if I had to choose, my top picks are the posters for Future War, all of the Gamera mini posters, Bride of the Monster (Crow dressed as Tor carrying Tom in drag is great) and the poster for Warrior of the Lost World.
Some of my favorites are
PumaMan, The Mole People,
Kitten with a Whip, Sword and the Dragon,
The Violent Years, Santa Claus,
The Beast of Yucca Flats. . . .the list goes on.
Steve does good work. I think you can see an improvement in his work over the run of posters. Not that the early stuff was poor (that Warrior of the Lost World is a good one), just that he has managed to get better at this MST poster business as he’s gone along.
Usually, after the title announcement for the next MST volume, I look forward to the reveal of what the bonus features will be.
After that, I look forward to the slow reveal of the Steven Vance poster images over (usually) Instagram and (sometimes) Facebook.
Like I said before,
Good work, Steve.
Keep it up.
After seeing this week’s topic, had to go home and review the posters before making my selection. (Thank you, POSTERS OF MST3K feature…)
I’ll have to go with THE CRAWLING EYE, BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS, THE MAD MONSTER, and JACK FROST. They’re just the ones that jump out at me most.
I really like the on for “The Girl in Lovers Lane” with Tom and Crow as Big Stupid and Danny. Hard to tell who is Big and who is Danny, but pretty funny at any rate.
I hope if they get the rights to Radar Secret Service, Tom’s head is the radar dealie on top of the car – that’d be awesome. I like Sword and the Dragon the best, with the Several-Headed Crow-Dragon.
Okay, I’ll hate…
I don’t like any of the posters. They all look basically the same to me. Same goes for the Shout! packaging (really, the only part of the Shout! MST experience I don’t care for). Say what you will about the often bizarre and random Rhino art, at least those Rhino sets are DISTINCTIVE.
I am framing my mini posters to hang as a collage on the wall of my office at work. (I figure Crow in drag will serve me far better than a generic inspirational poster…) Right now, I only have one horizontal poster (Gorgo) and I would really like another to help with the structure of the collage. Does anyone happen to know of any other films that have been made into a horizontal mini poster? Thanks for your help!